The present invention relates to a detecting apparatus for detecting a variety of physical characteristics of objects to be detected, which are conveyed on a conveyance passage.
Hitherto, in order to detect a plurality of physical characteristics of objects to be detected, a plurality of sensor portions are disposed on a conveyance passage in a detecting apparatus for detecting a variety of physical characteristics of objects to be detected, which are conveyed on the conveyance passage.
Objects to be detected are individually conveyed on a conveyance passage in such a detecting apparatus. Sensors disposed on the conveyance passage and capable of detecting required physical characteristics of the objects to be detected are selected. Since a plurality of physical characteristics of objects to be detected are required to be detected in usual, a variety of sensors for detecting the plural physical characteristics are interspersed over the conveyance passage. The physical characteristics of the objects to be detected, detected by the sensor portions are formed into electric signals. Then, the electric signals are transmitted to processing units through transmission passages. Each processing unit subjects the electric signals transmitted from the sensor portions to a process for detecting the physical characteristics of the objects to be detected. After all of the processes for detecting the physical characteristics have been completed, the processing unit totally determines results of the detection so as to produce a predetermined output to an output portion.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the structures of the sensor portion and the processing unit of the conventional detecting apparatus. As shown in FIG. 8, the physical characteristics of the objects to be detected, which have been detected by the sensors of the sensor portions, are converted into electric signals. Then, the electric signals are amplified by amplifiers, and then, through the transmission passages (in general, long coaxial cables), transmitted to the processing units disposed to correspond to the sensor portions.
Each processing unit causes an A/D converter to convert the electric signal transmitted from the sensor portion into digital data. A detection-result processor processes results of the detection so as to store the results of the detection in a common memory. A central processing unit reads the results of detection. The central processing unit analyzes the results of the detection so as to output a signal for instructing a predetermined operation to an output portion. A data collector is used when data processed by each processing unit is collectively collected.
The detecting apparatus having the foregoing conventional structure, however, requires the transmission passages (harnesses) which establish the connection between the sensor portions and the processing units corresponding to the sensor portions. Therefore, a multiplicity of the transmission passages must be provided for the inside of the detecting apparatus.
Electric signals are transmitted from the plural sensor portions in an asynchronous manner and the data transmission rates of the electric signals are different from one another. Hence it follows that the sensors require individual processing hardware. Therefore, the structure of the processing unit becomes complicated.
Further, the data collector to collect data must be provided for each processing unit. What is worse, collection of data for identifying objects to be detected cannot easily be performed.
An object of the present invention is to provide a detecting apparatus with which the structures of transmission passages for connecting a plurality of sensor portions and processing units and the transmission passage in each processing unit can be simplified.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a detecting apparatus with which a portion of a plurality of processing hardware systems for processing electric signals which are asynchronously transmitted from a plurality of sensor portions at different transmission rates can be made to be common structure and, therefore, the structure of each processing unit can be simplified.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a detecting apparatus structured such that only one data collector collects data about a variety of results detected asynchronously from a plurality of sensor portions, transmitted at different transmission rates, the collector being arranged to be capable of collecting data in units of each of objects to be detected, which are conveyed through the conveyance passage.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a detecting apparatus comprising: a plurality of detecting means for detecting a variety of physical characteristics of objects to be detected, which are being conveyed on a conveyance passage to output data indicating results of detection as electric signals; mixing means for receiving electric signals output from the detecting means, adding an identifier indicating the detecting means to data obtained by the plural detecting means and collectively and sequentially outputting data from each detecting means: and detection-result processing means for receiving data output from the mixing means, identifying the detecting means from which data has been obtained in accordance with the identifier contained in received data and processing results of detection of the various physical characteristics.
The plurality of detecting means incorporating means for outputting digital data indicating results of detection of the objects to be detected in response to sensor clocks asynchronous with each other, and the mixing means incorporating storage means for storing digital data output from each of the detecting means at periods of the sensor clocks and means for outputting data stored in the storage means in response to clocks, the transmission rate of each of which being higher than that of each of the sensor clocks.
Each of the detecting means incorporates means for detecting spaces among objects to be detected to output space detection signal, and wherein the detecting apparatus further comprises, determining means for determining the sequential order of conveyance of the objects to be detected in response to the space detection signal output from the detecting means to output serial numbers for identifying the objects to be detected, and data collecting means for adding the serial numbers output from the determining means to data sequentially output from the mixing means so as to collect data.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a detecting apparatus comprising: a plurality of detecting means for detecting a variety of physical characteristics of objects to be detected, which are being conveyed on a conveyance passage, to add identifiers indicating the detecting means from which data has been obtained to data indicating results of detection, each detecting means outputting a data items and incorporating timing control means for controlling output timing from the detecting means in such a manner that data items are successively output from the plurality of detecting means into the transmission passage, and detection-result processing means for receiving data output from detecting means through the transmission passage, identifying the detecting means from which data has been obtained in accordance with the identifier contained in received data and processing results of detection of the various physical characteristics.
The timing control means includes output control means for generating an output-enable signal from horizontal synchronizing signal indicating turnaround time of output of data from the plural detecting means and reference clock signal and means for temporarily storing data indicating results of detection and outputting data indicating results of detection in accordance with the output-enable signal supplied from the output control means and in response to the reference clock signal.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.